More sellers are dropping home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area

Roughly 21% of San Francisco metro-area houses for sale saw price cuts recently, according to Redfin data.

Why it matters: Home sellers across the country are increasingly offering discounts to entice buyers hampered by high housing costs .

• "A housing market that for years has been defined by fast sales and few options is starting to look more like it did before the pandemic in terms of competition among buyers and their negotiating power," Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen said in a report .

State of play: In the San Francisco metro area, the share of active listings with price drops nearly doubled from December 2023, when it was just over 10%.

• It surpassed 30% in 2022 , when price cuts surged nationwide in part due to rising mortgage rates that caused home shoppers to back out of the market.

Redfin's advice for buyers, via Bay Area agent Christine Chang :

• Consider single-family homes that may be a bit outdated but don't require major renovations.
• Look for homes in lesser-known neighborhoods. You might be able to avoid competition since they tend to sit on the market longer.
• If you don't need a ton of space, condos could be another way to go. Many are going under asking price at the moment.

What to watch: Many real estate agents expect competition to heat up once summer vacation ends and kids are back in school.